Virgin Bros: Cam Zink & Kyle Strait at Red Bull Rampage 2023

Words & photography by Izzy Lidsky


Batman and Robin. Maverick and Goose. Peanut butter and chocolate. Few things go together as well as these duos but Cam Zink and Kyle Strait give them a run for their money. Strait and Zink’s story begins in the gates at Big Bear Slalom when they were only nine and ten years old. They grew up deep in the race scene, idolizing riders like Kirt Voreis and Shaun Palmer. In their early teens the freeride discipline was just beginning to get off the ground, and as it did, Zink and Strait went with it. Their shared background meant their approach to freeride was similar.




When Rampage was born in 2001, Strait was amongst the first group of riders to compete. Zink joined him in 2003. Having ridden together for so many years already, Zink and Strait quickly found that when it came to Rampage, they were usually looking for the same things in a line. Steep, big mountain lines and the biggest step downs they could find are two of the things that have continued to characterize Zink and Strait’s Rampage lines over the years.

“Just like your diggers, you wouldn't wanna hire a digger just because they're good at digging. You want to have someone that you like hanging out with over the 10 days and that you're gonna trust in doing speed runs and that will keep the vibes high. So who better than your best friend?” says Zink.





For Zink, the wins are something they’ve been able to share. “Even back to ‘04,” reminisced Zink, “when we did the Mansize Gap and he [Kyle] took the win. That was a full team effort, you know?” Strait’s massive suicide no-hander took the win off that drop, but only two years into riding Rampage together, it clearly cemented the pair’s relationship as friends and teammates. After building their lines together just about every year, the trust between these two to speed check for each other is unmatched.

The two spent this morning perfecting their 63 ft Oakley Icon stepdown before Zink guinea pigged it. The wind picked up again before Strait could hit it, but Zink was glad he’d been able to give it a test run for the both of them.




Zink also guinea pigged the drop that Strait crashed on last year. After watching his best friend crash, it felt daunting to Zink to hit it again. But with more time to perfect the feature, both were able to check it off and feel far more confident moving forward in their lines. “We need our builders, we need family, we need sponsors. And I think most importantly, we've helped each other through our career,” said Zink of being able to help Strait check off such a loaded feature.

Although they don’t get to ride together every day anymore, Zink and Strait continue to push each other and keep each other going. As always, their lines are going to be ones to watch come Friday.

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Racing and Events Stories Cam Zink Kyle Strait Red Bull Rampage 2023